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The Guardian is reporting in an exclusive that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, is set to announce increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD) in next week’s Budget. I have no reason to doubt that the story is broadly accurate, but the details are perhaps a little vague for an ‘exclusive’:

“It is understood that he will announce that a reform of the tax, mooted earlier this year, will go ahead, with a higher rate levied on the longest journeys…

In a consultation document published alongside the March budget, the treasury set out several options for reforming APD. Its favoured approach was a new, three-band structure, with destinations more than 6,000 miles away facing the highest charge.

There is also expected to be a new, lower rate for domestic flights.”

We’ll have to wait until next week to get the full details, but the direction of travel seems pretty clear – expect to pay more APD on the longest flights.

The proposed 6,000 mile threshold is an interesting choice (assuming that is what is chosen), as many long haul destinations slip just under it, when flying from London Heathrow Aiport. These include Los Angeles, Mexico City, Bangkok, Tokyo, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, etc. It would only really affect the ‘ultra long haul’ flights to places like Buenos Aires, Singapore and Australia.

Bottom line

Do you think it is fair to pay more APD for longer flights, or would you prefer to see a different system introduced?